The Duke and Duchess of Sussex hire new private secretary

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have appointed a new private secretary to help head up their royal household.

According to The Mail on Sunday, the parents asked diplomat Fiona Mcilwham to take on the prestigious role.

Formerly one of the youngest British ambassadors to Albania back in 2009, the 45-year-old has since worked her way up through the diplomatic service and describes herself as a “wannabe supermum” on social media.

The role in question reportedly involves co-ordinating the royal couple’s official programme, supervising other members of the Sussex team and managing correspondence.

Mcilwham will replace Samantha Cohen who plans to leave the position of private secretary later in the year, shortly after Harry and Meghan’s highly-anticipated tour of South Africa in autumn 2019.

Prior to joining the Sussex office, Cohen worked as assistant private secretary to the Queen and was only asked to work for the Sussexes for a short period of time.

But after reportedly sparking a strong relationship with Meghan, she subsequently decided to stay longer in office.

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The latest hiring comes amid news of a big royal shuffle with a number of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s team calling it quits in recent months.

Melissa Touabti, Meghan’s former personal assistant, was first to leave six months after the royal wedding. The following January, the royal’s assistant private secretary, Amy Pickerill, was next to hand in her notice.

Heather Wong, who worked as assistant private secretary to Prince Harry, was the latest to bid farewell to Kensington Palace.

The Sussex household rejig comes after the royal couple split from the Kensington Palace base they shared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to move to Windsor.

The duo have since left the Royal Foundation too after setting up their own charity initiative.